Door latch and lock mechanism



Jan. 8, 1963 H. DE VINES 3,07

DOOR LATCH AND LOCK MECHANISM Filed Sept. 28, 1959 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 FIG./

INVENTOR. HOLLIS DE WIVES ATTORNEY.

Jan. 8, 1963 H. DE VINES 3,072,427

DOOR LATCH AND LOCK MECHANISM Filed Sept. 28, 1959 I 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Fl G. I I INVENTOR.

HOLLIS DE WIVES Maw ATTORNEY.

bedrooms, bathrooms, and the like.

United States Patent Ofifice 3,@7Z,4 Z7 Patented Jan. 8, 1953 3,072,427 DOOR LATCH AND LOCK MECHANISM Hollis De Vines, San Mateo, Calif, assignor to Schlage Lock Company, a corporation Filed Sept. 28, 1959, Ser. No. 842,759 Claims. (Cl. 292-169) This invention relates to a door latch and lock mechanism and especially to improvements on the door latch and lock mechanism disclosed in my co-pending application entitled Door Latch and Lock Mechanism filed February 16, 1959, Serial No. 793,401, now Patent No. 3,035,432 issued May 22 1962.

The door latch and lock mechanism shown in my copending application employs an outside spindle and knob and an inside spindle and knob. The spindles are permanently interlocked by means of a roll back member, whereby a spring loaded latch bolt is actuated, hence, when either knob and spindle is rotated the other spindle and knob will also rotate and the latch bolt will be retracted. My co-pending application also discloses a turn button mounted on the inner knob. This button is connected to a rotatable locking bar, and when the bar is rotated by means of the button the bar actuates a locking mechanism which dogs or locks both spindles and knobs against rotation, and the only means whereby they may be unlocked is by reverse rotation of the button and bar.

A door latch and lock mechanism of this character is known as a privacy lock as its use is usually limited to This type of lock is exceedingly simple and easy to operate as it is only necessary to turn the button on the inside knob to lock the door, and to turn the button in the opposite direction to unlock the door, but the lock is not panic proof. For instance, a person occupying a bedroom may suddenly be awakened by a bad dream, by an outside noise, by a fire alarm or the smell of smoke. Under such or similar circumstances he or she may become so hysterical or panic stricken that all he or she can think of is to get out of the room. He or she may forget about the turn button and grasp the knob which is locked and cannot turn. This might prove fatal in case of a fire as even a few minutes delay may make escape impossible.

The purpose of the present invention is to provide a door latch and lock mechanism which is panic proof. I accomplish this by providing an inside spindle and knob which is free to rotate and open the door at all times whether the outside spindle and knob are locked or not. I also provide a locking bar which maintains the outer spindle and knob in locked position until the inner spindle and knob is rotated to open the door. I further provide a locking bar which is automatically rotated to unlock the outer knob and spindle when locked, by mere rotation of the inner knob and spindle.

The invention is shown by way of illustration in the accompanying drawings in which,

FIG. 1 is a plan view of the latch set mounted in a door.

FIG. 2 is a horizontal section of the door latch and lock mechanism.

FIG. 3 is a cross section of FIG. 2 taken on line Iil III, said view showing the locking bars in locked position.

FIG. 4 is a similar section showing the locking bars unlocked.

FIG. 5 is a cross section of the inner spindle taken on line V--V of FIG. 2.

FIG. 6 is a perspective view of the spindle and knob supporting housing indicated at A in FIG. 1.

FIG. 7 is a perspective view of the spindle and knob supporting housing indicated at B in FIG. 1.

FIG. 8 is a section taken on line VIH-VIH of FIG. 2 said view showing the latch bolt extended.

from the exterior side of the door.

FIG. 9 is a View similar to FIG. 8 but showing the latch bolt retracted.

FIG. 10 is a perspective view of the channel bar which carries the turn button and which actuates the locking bar.

FIG. 11 is a perspective view of one of the washers that supports the locking bar, and

MG. 12 is a plan View of the inner ends of the spindles showing the normal position of the roll back members.

The latch set briefly described consists of two spindles and knob supporting housings indicated at A and B and in addition thereto, there is a latch unit indicated at. C. These units are pre-assembled in the factory and they are separable, but even so, are quickly and readily combined and installed in a door.

Each of the spindle and knob supporting housings consists of three parts, see FIGS. 1, 2, 6 and 7. First, a cupshaped member which enters and fits a transverse opening formed in the door. The cup-shaped member or members has an inner bearing plate 2, with a bearing opening 3 formed therein, and it has a circumferential cyiindrical wall which terminates in an outer peripheral flange 4. Second, an outer bearing plate 5 of the same diameter as flange 4- is provided. This bearing plate is provided with an outwardly extending bearing hub 6, and third, there is an escutcheon plate '7 having an inturned flange 8, which is spun over the outer edge of plate 5 and flange 4 of the cup-shaped housing, thus forming an assembly. Both of the spindle and knob supporting housings are substantially identical, but they carry different forms of mechanisms which co-operate to form a lock set or privacy lock which is panic proof.

The outer spindle housing A supports a spindle 9 and an outer knob 10. The inner spindle housing B supports a spindle 11 and a knob 12, and each spindle has a roll back member, one being indicated at 14 and the other at 149. The outer spindle housing A carries a pair of posts 19, which are suitably secured therein. The posts are internally threaded to receive a pair of clamping screws 2%, see FIG. 2. The function of these screws will be later described.

The latch bolt unit C is best shown in FIGS. 1, 8 and 9. The unit is of more or less standard construction as it consists of a faceplate 21 through which a latch bolt 22 extends. Attached to the rear face of the faceplate is a tubular housing 23 and forming an extension thereof is a pair of spaced anchor plates 24 which serve as a guide for a retractor bar 25. This bar is secured to the inner end of the latch bolt and is surrounded by a spring which normally holds the latch bolt and the retractor bar in projected position, also the retractor bar has an opening 25 formed therein through which the roll backs 14 and 14 extend as will later be described. A latch bolt of this character is referred to as a spring loaded latch bolt.

A door intended to receive a latch set of this character must have two holes bored therein, first, a large hole, comparatively speaking, as indicated at 27, and secondly, a smaller hole 28, see FIG. 1, which is bored through the edge of the door While the larger hole is drilled through the oposite faces of the door. When installing the latch set of the present invention, the latch bolt unit C is first inserted in the smaller hole which is drilled through the edge of the door and is secured in place by a pair of screws passing through the faceplate 21. The outer spindle housing unit A is then inserted in the larger hole During installation of this unit the roll back member 14 will pass through openings 29 formed in the anchor plates and also through 3 again be taken to align holes 32, see FIG. 7 with the screw posts 19 as these telescope with relation to the bearing plate 2 of unit B. All three units are finally secured in place by inserting screws 20 and tightening them. When unit B is applied its roll back member 14- passes through the openings and 29 respectively, and assumes the position shown in PEG. 8. This leaves each spindle and knob free to rotate to retract the spring loaded latch bolt 22 independently of the other.

The structure so far described is known as a latch set, and is intended for use on inside doors where looking of the doors is unnecessary, but when privacy is required as in a bedroom, bathroom, etc. the latch Set may be readily converted to a lock set in which the outer spindle and knob are adapted to be locked against rotation by manipulation of a turn button the inner knob. The mechanism required to convert the latch set to a lock set briefly stated, comprises a button 34 carried by the inner knob 12, a channel-shaped member 35, a locking bar 36, and a pair of locking plates 37 whereby the outer spindle and knob are locked against rotation. The channelshaped member is best shown in FIG. 10. The button 34 is secured to one end thereof while the other end is bent down at right angles as at 39 and has a slot 4a formed therein through which bar 36 extends, see FIG. 2. The bar extends through both spindles and is supported at opposite ends by washers 41 and 42 suitably secured in the ends of the respective spindles, see FIGS. 2 and 11. These washers have centrally disposed round holes formed therein, so that bar 36 can rotate freely when the button 34 is turned. The bar also extends through the locking plates 37 which are-carried by the outer spindle and the locking bar is retained against endwise removal from the outer spindle by having shoulders 56 and 51 formed thereon which engage the locking plates and the washer 41 respectively. The locking plates are best shown in FIGS. 2, 3 and 4. They are identical in construction and operation to the locking plates shown in my co-pending application previously referredto, so that it should suttice to say, that the openings 43 formed in the plates and through which the bar 36 extends are cam-shaped in such a manner that when the bar is rotated in one direction, the plates are forced radially and outwardly into locking engagement with the screw posts 19, see FIG. 3, thus locking the outer spindle and knob, and when turned in the opposite direction the locking plates are retracted, see FIG. 4, thus unlocking the outer pindle and knob.

It should be stated that the outside spindle and knob and the inside spindle and knob are independently rotatable to retract the latch bolt and that if the outside spindle and knob is locked against rotation the inside spindle and knob is freely rotatable to retract the latch bolt. It is for this reason, that I call the present lock mechanism panic proof, as a person occupying a room equipped with the present locking mechanism has only one thing to do if he or she wants to get out, and that is, to grasp the inner knob and rotate it to open the door, as rotation of the knob rotates the spindle, the spindle in turn actuates the roll back 14 and this retracts the latch bolt.

I also utilize the rotational movement of the inner knob and spindle to automatically unlock the outer spindle and knob when locked. This is desirable as a person entering a bathroom will rotate the button to temporarily lock the door. He or she may forget to unlock the door by reverse rotation of the button before leaving, and as such will be locked out, and while it is possible to re-enter or unlock the door from the outside by inserting a small screwdriver or like implement through a central hole formed in the outer knob and engage the screwdriver in a notch at the outer end of the locking bar, by so doing, it is possible to rotate the bar to unlock the door. Such opening of the door is intended for emergency use only, but it is obviously more practical to automatically unlock the door when it is opened from the inside.

By placin a washer 44 within the inner spindle 11 and securing it so that it will rotate with the spindle, it may be utilized to rotate the locking bar, that is, the washer is provided with a cam opening through which the locking bar extends. This cam opening has two shoulders 45 and 46 formed thereon, see FIG. 5, which engage opposite sides of the locking bar when this has been rotated by the button to assume the locking position shown in PEG. 3, hence, when the spindle and knob is rotated to assume the position shown in FIG. 4 the shoulders 45 and 46 which engage opposite sides of the locking bar, rotate the bar, thus automatically unlocking the outer knob and spindle when opening the door.

By referring to PEG. 8 it will be noted that the roll back members 14 and M contact each other. When the locking mechanism is unlocked, either spindle and knob may be rotated in either direction to retract the latch bolt. For instance, if the inner spindle 11 and roll back 14 is rotated in the direction of arrow a, see FIG. 8, roll back 14 will contact roll back 14 and this in turn will engage a shoulder 47 on the retractor bar causing rotation of both spindles and retraction of the latch bolt. Similarly, if the outer spindle 9 and roll back 14 are turned in a direction opposite to arrow a, roll back 14 will contact roll back 14, and this will engage a shoulder 48 on the retractor bar causing rotation of both spindles and retraction of the latch bolt. If spindle 11 and roll back 14 are rotated in a direction opposite the arrow a as shown in FIG. 9 the roll back will contact shoulder 48 and retract the latch bolt, but in this instance, spindle 9 and roll back 14 will remain stationary. If spindle 9 and roll back 14 are turned in the direction of the arrow, the roll back 14 will engage the shoulder 47 of the retractor bar and cause retraction of the latch bolt, and spindle 11 and roll back 14 will remain stationary. If the outer spindle 9 and roll back 14 together with knob 10 is locked, spindle 1i and roll back 14 will have to rotate in the direction shown in FIG. 9 to retract the latch bolt, and will at the same time automatically unlock the outer knob and spind as spindle 11 will rotate washer 44, and this in turn imparts rotation to the locking bar in a direction which will retract the locking plates with relation to the posts 19 as shown in FIG. 4.

FIG. 12 is a plan view of the inner ends of the spindles showing the normal position of the roll back members. This view shows that the roll back members lie side by side parallel to each other, and that they rotate about the central axis of the spindles. FIG. 12 together with FIG. 2 shows that each roll back telescopes with an opposing spindle; this is important as it permits adjustment of a lock set of this character with relation to doors of varying thickness. It should also be stated that the roll back members have a common radius of rotation, and that their rotational movement is limited to a quarter revolution by stop shoulders 52 and 53 formed on the anchor plates 24, see FIGS. 8 and 9.

In some instances the position of the roll back members with relation to each other makes no difference, that is, it makes no difference if the roll back member 14 is disposed on one side or the other of the roll back member 14 when the units A, B and C are assembled in a door, but it does make a difference when a lock set is employed which automatically unlocks the outer spindle when the door is opened by rotation of the inner spindle. This type of lock set employs the washer 44 having a cam opening formed therein which presents two shoulders 45 and 46, see FIG. 5, which engage opposite sides of the locking bar when this has been rotated by the button to assume locking position. To unlock the outer spindle, the inner spindle must be rotated in a reverse direction, as washer 44 and the locking bar rotate with it. The direction of rotation of the inner spindle to unlock the outer spindle is in a clockwise direction, and it is therefore necessary that the roll back member 14 on the inner spindle is on the side of the roll back 14 which permits the roll back 14 to move away from the roll back 14 when turned in a clockwise direction.

To insure such positioning of the roll back members with relation 'to each other it is only necessary to place a barrier in the inner end of the inner spindle, which barrier prevents roll back 14* from entering or telescoping with relation to the inner spindle when assembling the units A, B and C in a door, that is, unless roll back 14 assumes the proper position. Such a barrier may be in a form of an inturned flange on the inner end of the inner spindle and on one side of the roll back 14, or as here shown the barrier may be in the form of a washer 55 suitably secured in the inner end of the inner spindle. This washer has an arcuate slot 56 formed in its peripheral edge in which the roll back 14 is freely movable when the inner spindle is rotated to open the door. As the roll back 14 must telescope with relation to the inner spindle when units A, B and C are applied to a door, it is obvious that the roll back member 14 is bound to assume the correct position during assembly as it cannot enter or telescope with relation to the inner spindle except by entering the arcuate slot 56.

Having thus described my invention, what I desire to claim and secure by Letters Patent is:

1. In a latch set of the character described, a pair of spaced apart aligned spindles rotatable about a common axis, a latch bolt unit disposed in the space between the spindles, a retractor bar for retracting the latch bolt, a roll back member projecting from the inner end of each spindle, said roll back members lying parallel to each other and in edge to edge contact, and said roll backs extending through the retractor bar from opposite sides and each roll back entering an opposed spindle and telescoping with relation thereto, and means for independently rotating the spindles to retract the latch bolt.

2. In a latch set of the character described, a pair of spaced apart aligned spindles rotatable about a common axis, a latch bolt unit disposed in the space between the spindles, a retractor bar for retracting the latch bolt, a roll back member projecting from the inner end of each spindle, said roll backs being offset inwardly and radially with relation to the outer surface of the spindles, and said roll backs extending through the retracted bar from opposite sides and each entering an opposed spindle and telescoping with relation thereto, and means for independently rotating the spindles to retract the latch bolt.

3. In a latch set of the character described, a pair of spaced apart aligned spindles rotatable about a common axis, a latch bolt unit disposed in the space between the spindles, a retractor bar for retracting the latch bolt, a roll back member projecting from the inner end of each spindle, said roll backs being offset inwardly and radially with relation to the outer surface of the spindles, and said roll backs extending through the retracted bar from opposite sides and each entering an opposed spindle and telescoping with relation therto, and means whereby the roll back member of one spindle can only enter the opposing spindle in a predetermined position.

4. In a latch set of the character described, a pair of spaced part aligned spindles rotatable about a common axis, a latch bolt unit disposed in the space between the spindles, a retractor bar for retracting the latch bolt, a roll back member projecting from the inner end of each spindle, said roll backs being offset inwardly and radially with relation to the outer surface of the spindles, and said roll backs extending through the retracted bar from opposite sides and each entering an opposed spindle and telescoping with relation thereto, and a barrier in the inner end of one spindle to predetermine the position of the roll back member of the opposing spindle.

5. In a latch set of the character described, a pair of spaced apart aligned spindles rotatable about a common axis, a latch bolt unit disposed in the space between the spindles, a retractor bar for retracting the latch bolt, 21 roll back member projecting from the inner end of each spindle, said roll backs being offset inwardly and radially with relation to the outer surface of the spindles, and said roll backs extending through the retracted bar from opposite sides and each entering an opposed spindle and telescoping with relation thereto, and a washer secured in the inner end of one spindle, said washer having an arcuate slot formed in one side thereof to receive the roll back member of the opposing spindle, said slot being of suflicient length to permit the roll back member upon rotation of the spindle to retract the latch bolt.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,193,349 Schlage Mar. 12, 1940 2,370,690 Schlage Mar; 6, 1945 2,447,290 Truninger Aug. 17, 1948 2,473,052 Cordrey et al June 14, 1949 2,738,666 Tornoe Mar. 20, 1956 2,829,913 North et al. Apr. 8, 1958 2,841,432 Ahlquist et a1 July 1, 1958 2,872,236 Check Feb. 3, 1959 2,917,337 Schlage Dec. 15, 1959 

1. IN A LATCH SET OF THE CHARACTER DESCRIBED, A PAIR OF SPACED APART ALIGNED SPINDLES ROTATABLE ABOUT A COMMON AXIS, A LATCH BOLT UNIT DISPOSED IN THE SPACE BETWEEN THE SPINDLES, A RETRACTOR BAR FOR RETRACTING THE LATCH BOLT, A ROLL BACK MEMBER PROJECTING FROM THE INNER END OF EACH SPINDLE, SAID ROLL BACK MEMBERS LYING PARALLEL TO EACH OTHER AND IN EDGE TO EDGE CONTACT, AND SAID ROLL BACKS EXTENDING THROUGH THE RETRACTOR BAR FROM OPPOSITE SIDES AND EACH ROLL BACK ENTERING AN OPPOSED SPINDLE AND TELESCOPING WITH RELATION THERETO, AND MEANS FOR INDEPENDENTLY ROTATING THE SPINDLES TO RETRACT THE LATCH BOLT. 